Democratic lawmakers push for shelter-in-place order for COVID-19

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WIAT) — Governor Kay Ivey says she’s not ready to issue a shelter-in-place order for Alabama. This comes after Georgia, Mississippi and Florida all issued some type of shelter-in-place order.

On Thursday, Gov. Ivey took COVID-19 questions from Alabamians on Twitter. The calls continue to grow for Alabama to issue a shelter-in-place order.

“Lives can’t be recovered once they’re lost. They can’t be recovered but the economy can be impacted by this and my family is impacted by this because we had to shut our business down a couple of weeks ago,” said Rep. Anthony Daniels (D- Huntsville).

Rep. Daniels says a shelter-in-place earlier would have helped stop the spread of COVID-19.

Gov. Ivey released a statement regarding the push for a shelt-in-place order:

“In consultation with the Coronavirus Task Force, the governor and the Alabama Department of Public Health have taken aggressive measures to combat COVID-19. The governor remains committed to exploring all options and has not ruled anything out, but she hopes that we do not need to take this approach. The governor’s priority is protecting the health, safety and well-being of all Alabamians, and their well-being also relies on being able to have a job and provide for themselves and their families. Many factors surround a statewide shelter-in-place, and Alabama is not at a place where we are ready to make this call.”

Gov. Kay Ivey

Sen. Doug Jones during a virtual town hall called on Gov. Ivey to implement a statewide shelter-in-place or stay-at-home order.

“It sends a strong message to the people of Alabama of how significant it is to use social distancing. To use whatever means necessary to stop the spread of this virus,” said Sen. Jones.